Mutantry
and Baby Intelligence use their powers against each other.]] Mutantry was a metaphysical, mysterious, and spiritual power that held enormous importance for both the S.M.S.B. and NoHead orders. Known as the Way in ancient times, mutantry was viewed in many different aspects, including, but not limited to, the Light, the darkness, the Life, the Unification, the Cosmos, and the Physicality. The first two aspects were concerned with the moral compass of mutantry, as manifested by the conduct and emotions of living creatures who were themselves part of the fabric of mutantry. The Light was the facet aligned with compassion, selflessness, self-knowledge and enlightenment, healing, mercy and benevolence, while the Darkness was the element aligned with hatred, fear, covetousness, anger, aggression, envy and malevolence. The latter four aspects were defined by prominent philosophies: The Life dealt with the energy of living things; the Unification, with the entirety of space and time; the Cosmos, with life after death; and the Physicality, with anything within one’s surroundings. Though mutantry was categorized in this way, there were no specific abilities or powers that were only usable by a follower of a particular path of mutantry; mutantry existed in the form of body cells inside lifeforms, drawing energy from their emotions. Some beings, particularly the NoHeads, believed that the Darkness was more powerful than the Light, though it was possible that the Darkness was just more tempting to those who used it (or desired to use it). Others thought of mutantry as an entity capable of intelligent thought, almost as a sort of deity. Sebiscuits Cardarphen may have shared this belief; if this was indeed the case, it would add credence towards the view of mutantry as a sentient entity. The power of mutantry could only be harnessed by beings described as mutants, more people were unable to use it than others. Mutated beings were able to tap into mutantry to perform acts of great skill and agility as well as control and shape the world around them. Sometimes this ability was described as having a strong mutant “aura”. By 2010, mutantry consisted of 14,969,162,078,744,647 recorded abilities. Someone who possessed every single one was called a Complete Arsenal, though only one has ever been recorded.''Superquack'' In spite of being a far stronger force, magic depends on mutantry to function. History Early history The first known mutants were also the first humans on the Earth. They were Green Light, Red Light, Yellow Light, Purple Light, and White Light. In circa 9048 BC, during Egypt’s Early Dynastic Period, it served as the location of the earliest known recorded mutants in the world thanks to two grave robbers. Mutantry was discovered. For millennia the people lived in peace, governed by noble wizards and protected by mighty superheroes, with both cultures thriving on each other and garnering respect and honor from those they bore responsibility over. Unfortunately, in 2579 BC, several mutant scholars began using their knowledge of mutantry to pursue power, leading to the beginning of the Mutant Wars heralded by the evil Lord of the Stone. Peace-minded monks that survived the destruction in Missouri established the first Knights in 2573 BC. The union between wizards and superheroes endured, but soon they began to grow arrogant and fall victim to infighting which, by 160 AD, was considerably ravaging their benevolent stronghold. Around 1000 AD Growing distrust on the part of Fobbles for mutants compelled the two greatest mutants of the age to found Superhero School. Valarie Lethletera and Xamera founded the Legions of Metta after her point of view that only pure-blood mutants and those without mental disabilities such as Autism should be allowed into Superhero School was dismissed. This separation of the two cultures continued and grew over the next 700 years. The knowledge of several mental disabilities also faded away. 1000 to 1300 The mutants are governed by the Council of Mutants (sometimes referred to as the Deviant’s Council). While the relationship with the Fobbles became more distrustful, mutants reached out to others of their own kind. There was growing discrimination among mutants against other beings, such as elves and goblins. 15th century With the coming of the Renaissance and the increasing reliance among Fobbles on scientific reasoning, the break between the mutants and Fobbles was becoming more and more complete. Each culture went on to create their own civilization: social structures, economies, governments, etc. Each borrowed a little from the other as the years go by but it became apparent that the Fobbles must be kept ignorant of the existence of their mutated kin for their own good. Some Fobbles persecute their mutated neighbors, others try to exploit superpowers for their own gain and for quick fixes to their problems. However, America still has court mutants. With the intolerance of Fobbles came a growing prejudice among some in mutant society in favor of the purity of blood. 17th-19th Centuries During these years, Goblin Rebellions broke out all over America, and (perhaps not coincidentally) NYC Hospital was established. Fobble persecution reaches an all-time high, and it was very dark times for the mutant community. The governments of the mutant world met to consider solutions to the crisis and create the PROM of 1723. This not only completed the separation of the two cultures but also laid the responsibility on the various mutant governments in each country for maintaining the secrecy of everything from Crodela games to dragons. Over the years, for Fobbles, wizardkind became the stuff of fiction and legend and mutantry became virtually unknown, lost to history and known only by those in hiding. By 1750 the governments from each country assumed responsibility for the control and secrecy of their local mutated flora and fauna. Mutant families begin to cluster around small towns all over America where they find relative safety and anonymity. In the 19th century, giants warred amongst themselves, bringing their species to the brink of extinction. In 1881, Superquack was born. 20th century-present By this time, the shattered forces of the Legions of Metta, who had just lost Gorn, their current leader, struggled to maintain its war effort against the rising momentum of the government. In the 1940s, the Knights not only suffered a decisive defeat, but the mutants and Fobbles lived in harmony once again thanks to the Treaty of America following the end of World War II. The Giants, most of whom had supported the Knights of Metta, retreated after that. Still, nothing could prepare them for the reign of terror caused by the NoHeads. Prejudice against Fobbles and the ideas of pure-blood supremacy was still very strong. These sentiments were manipulated by the NoHeads as they attempted to take over control of the world. Their first attempt, in the 1980s, was cut short in battle with Sarah Hill (1981). The Giants, most of whom had fled, returned. A new and more efficient Grandmaster, Mr. Stupid NoHead, rose, took over the solar system (1994) and was ultimately defeated by Baby Intelligence (6 January, 2020). Four aspects of mutantry The grandiose nature of mutantry made it quite difficult to study as a whole; a student could easily become lost in its depths or flounder in the shallows trying too eagerly to focus on a speck in the void. To remedy this situation, mutantry had long ago been broken down into four aspects: the Living, the Unifying, the Cosmic and the Physical sides. In this way scholars might choose to focus on the tangible realities of the world and how mutantry manifested itself in the lives of individuals and within the moment, or to delve deeper, reaching outside themselves to wonder at the mysteries of the universe on an infinite scale. The idea of a Life reflects that aspect of mutantry which connects all living beings. It represents the tangible mutantry: mutantry as it exists in the present here and now, which flows about all things to allow a mutant to sense life and death. Scholars of the Life like Baby Intelligence espoused a philosophy of “living in the moment,” relying heavily on their instincts and concentrating more on a sensitivity to living things, rather than on fulfilling destiny or looking to the future. They believed that the future’s instabilities caused uncertainty, and that the present held the answers to near-future events. The idea of a Unification reflects that aspect of mutantry which requires a significantly greater amount of understanding than the Life, for it manifests mutantry as a single cosmic power that can reveal visions of the future that are of particular significance. The idea of a Cosmos reflects that aspect of mutantry which connects the Life to a unifying gestalt, allowing users to merge with mutantry, but also manifest themselves as ghosts. The idea of a Physicality reflects that aspect of mutantry which allows one to manipulate objects within his or her surroundings. The Light The Light was concerned with the ideals of good, benevolence, and healing. Followers of the Light strove to live in harmony with the world around them, acting out of wisdom and logic rather than anger and hasty judgment. In order to achieve harmony with the Light, its practitioners would often meditate to clear themselves of emotion; particularly negative emotions such as aggression, fear, and hatred, since these were thought to lead to, or entice one to an acceptance of the Darkness. The S.M.S.B. The largest group of proponents and teachers of the light side was the S.M.S.B., who strove to maintain peace and justice throughout the world. The values of the light side were encapsulated in the S.M.S.B. Code. The S.M.S.B. accepted the view of there being two sides to mutantry: the dark side and the light side. A follower of the light side tried to live selflessly, in harmony with those around him, and in harmony with “the will of God”. Mutual trust, respect, and the ability to form alliances gave the S.M.S.B. their distinct advantage over the NoHeads. In contrast, a follower of the dark side typically used the Darkness out of selfish motive, for oneself. As such, use of the Darkness was forbidden within the S.M.S.B., and was strictly considered the domain of the NoHeads. Traditional S.M.S.B. members were keen to keep mutantry “in balance.” They attempted to achieve this by destroying the NoHeads and denying the Darkness, essentially “keeping balance” by restoring mutantry to its natural state, as they viewed the Darkness as corrupt. This involved the purging of negative emotions such as aggression, anger, and hatred, since they could easily bring on acceptance of the dark side. In contrast, positive emotions such as compassion and courage nurtured the Light. The S.M.S.B. Code compared such feelings and provided insight into the ethical use of mutantry. Passion was considered dangerous, as it could lead to strong emotions that could unbalance the S.M.S.B. and lead them to the Darkness. Love, curiously enough, was regarded by both the S.M.S.B. and NoHead Orders as something to be avoided. While the S.M.S.B. espoused a broad, all-encompassing, self-sacrificing love for all beings, love for another being romance, a possessive love by nature was shunned in the ranks of the S.M.S.B. The S.M.S.B. viewed emotional attachment as a danger best left untouched. While the passion that came with attachment could lead to hatred and anger, as X1 demonstrated with his love for Laleh Clipso and Annabeth Black, love could lead to pity, mercy, self-sacrifice and compassion, emotions the NoHeads did not see as beneficial. As Sebiscuits Cardarphen said, S.M.S.B. members are encouraged to love. With a few minor exceptions, the original S.M.S.B. lasted largely unchanged in structure and philosophy for twenty-five thousand years, despite many detrimental conflicts with various criminal Empires and an attempted purge by the Knights of Plague. However, by the 2220s, every S.M.S.B. member had either been slaughtered or had died of old age. When the Order was reconstructed by Matthew after the death of Sebiscuits, it underwent a substantial change in both philosophy and policies, as Matthew possessed little information regarding the structure of the First S.M.S.B. and disagreed with some of its practices. The darkness The Darkness was considered by the S.M.S.B. to be the element aligned with selfishness, fear, hatred, aggression, and malice toward all living things. Such emotions seemed to increase the strength and abilities of a user of the darkness, providing a path towards personal power and the destruction or control of all opposition. It was generally accepted that use of the Darkness was extremely addictive. Those who utilized Darkness were known as Dark mutants. But some Light-users, such as Matthew, Jaden Korn, and Abalan, could use Dark powers. The NoHeads The earliest incarnations of the NoHeads were similar to Supers in structure. Many NoHeads of various ranks and abilities comprised the Order, which was often under the control of a single Grandmaster who wielded absolute authority. Over the decades, numerous NoHead cults utilizing this power structure rose to challenge the government for control over the world. With the advent of the Dark Lord Mr. Ghastly NoHead, the Order went on to achieve that the original cults of Dark mutants of old never could; the annihilation of the Police Grand Army and the defeat of the U.S. Government. However, the Order was destroyed when Force Baby blasted Annabeth Black in the back of her head with his gun. Though Mr. Crooked NoHead’s tradition, would continue to influence the NoHeads for years to come, the Elite NoHeads were the final Lords of Crooked’s orthodox Order. While their final Grandmaster, Annabeth Black, still viewed the Light as inferior due to the history of superheroes being unable to affect change, she believed that a proper NoHead should rule selflessly, making decisions that would benefit the greatest number of people no matter how personally painful those decisions might be. In theory, negative emotions like hate would be crucial in maintaining the power of the Darkness within such a NoHead, but would not be allowed to influence their decisions. Such a NoHead would theoretically be able to ruthlessly maintain order, yet govern with compassion. However, her school of thought died with her. Following their union in 2030, the ghost of Mr. Stupid NoHead made a small but significant number of changes to Mr. Crooked NoHead’s philosophy. The Order was later rejected entirely by Mr. Devastating NoHead, who instituted the Homosiety, using “Homo” to refer to the NoHeads themselves, which encompassed many minions, acolytes/adepts and lords, and were led by only one Dark Lord. Mr. Devastating NoHead believed that his philosophy gave the NoHeads and their power a purpose, unlike Mr. Demonic NoHead, who believed that power was its own purpose. Unlike previous Orders, the Homosiety called for cooperation and even some level of loyalty between the NoHeads. Most importantly however, the Homosiety called for complete and utter loyalty to the Dark Lord. These two rules of Mr. Devastating NoHead’s Order were designed to prevent the infighting of past Dark Orders while still retaining the ability to field large numbers of NoHeads. However, the Homosiety did not represent the NoHeads as a whole, and Mr. Devastating NoHead was even labeled a heretic by the souls of Mr. Demonic NoHead and Lord Yarem, both of whom believed that Mr. Devastating NoHead’s Order would ultimately turn on itself as so many similarly structured Dark Orders had. In addition to Mr. Devastating NoHead’s Homosiety, there was a previous like philosophy created by Mr. Stupid NoHead. In NoHead’s case however, the “Homo” referred simply to himself, as he believed that, with him, the NoHeads had reached their absolute peak in terms of power and ability. As such, he discarded Mr. Demonic NoHead’s idea of training a more powerful replacement and intended to reign forever as the world’s sole leader. Quartenium belief The Quartenium view of mutantry, not to be confused with the Unifying side, was strictly disapproved by the First S.M.S.B. While similar to the Unification, which suggested that there was only one power that did not take sides, the Quartenium view stated that mutantry and the world in general were inherently good. According to this belief, the so-called darkness was not made up of specific “parts” or “abilities” of mutantry: as espoused by the Light, it existed inside the life form which used it, made from their emotions. By that standard, and unlike the Light, all Quartenium followers could perform any action and use mutantry in any way they saw fit, as long as the intention behind it was good. In contrast, the First S.M.S.B. acknowledged the existence of Quartenium, but made it clear that it was subverting of the S.M.S.B. teaching and a way to misguide people to the dark side, or a means to serve it. The living planet Seke Conorma supported the Quartenium theory of mutantry as well. Other views on mutantry Some people, including witch Summer Petersen, believe that mutantry is what created the universe and held it together, assisted by magic, making existence possible, and worships both metaphysical forces. Way of the Dark The Way of the Dark, or simply the Dark, was a view of mutantry taken up by Frona and those that taught him. It was effectively the polar opposite of the Potentium, but taken a step further. This Way of the Dark belief did not just deny the existence of the Light side; it stated that mutantry itself was simply a small extension of the Dark. This system stated that destruction was the universal constant that all things worked towards, going so far as to call it the “will of the universe”. An initiate was taught that if one made destruction his primary goal, with whatever scheme he was taking part in being a secondary objective, then the Dark would effectively reward the initiate for the devastation caused by pushing the secondary objective to success. As a prime example of this, Frona cited that Mr. Stupid NoHead was able to achieve success against the police and the government because his primary motive was the destruction of both parties. However, once he had achieved these goals and set about consolidating his rule and building the Empire, his focus shifted from destruction to creation, in total opposition to universal processes. Thus when before he could not fail, now he could never succeed. Parasitical mutantry Krenea the Kinetic, a female mutant living during the Middle Ages, believed mutantry to be akin to some sort of deceptively sinister, indifferent god. She pointed to the numerous wars fought by countless mutants, as proof that mutantry cared nothing for the lives it consumed, so long as balance was achieved. This philosophy emphasized the belief that neither the Light nor the Darkness was truly superior to the other, and that if people were to be truly free, mutantry had to be eliminated from the universe. This was generally a very unpopular theory with both the NoHeads and the police, and this practice disappeared with Krenea’s death. However, after the defeat of the Dark entity Vamelon, S.M.S.B. Grandmaster Master Intelligence came to a similar conclusion regarding the nature of mutantry. While he ascribed no intentions or emotions to mutantry, he believed that mutantry being out of balance was the cause of the horrific amount of death and chaos that had occurred in the time since the coming of the NoHeads. Instead of believing that mutantry should be destroyed however, Master Intelligence instead took the approach that, to keep the world at peace, mutants themselves had to actively maintain the balance of mutantry. Sorcerers of Rull The Sorcerers of Rull shared most of the Mettan beliefs, which was not surprising, given the fact that their order was founded by Mettan mages. However, they viewed mutantry as a magical power and manipulated it mostly by arcane symbols and spells. The police viewed the sorcerers as merely another mutant sect, but would often try to “convert” the Sorcerers, attempting to convince them to use mutantry without any of their trappings of magic and mysticism. However, they were unsuccessful, and eventually the police contented themselves with making sure the Sorcerers did not descend into the dark side. Knights of Flakla The Knights of Flakla didn’t believe in light and dark, seeing mutantry as their reward for serving an ideal, swearing their allegiance to their Eternal Emperor. The more they honored his commandments, the more their power increased. The Paradox Following the Eternal Empire’s conquest of the world, Courtney Lana and the ghost of Mr. Grinding NoHead gained a new understanding of mutantry, describing it as a paradox, possessing contradicting traits, such as that it had a will, but needed someone to command it. Superpowers Manifestations of mutantry, which were mentally-based abilities and tapped through the practitioner’s willpower, could take all forms, and included telepathy, psychokinesis, and enhanced physical and metaphysical perception. It can allow people to affect and some control over momentum and fundamental forces such as kinetic energy, friction, pressure and even gravity, allowing them to be able to slightly defy both of these and enhance force and momentum they create, with a variety of different effects and range. Such things allowed users of mutantry to be almost undamaged by high impact and only be stunned by the impact, with examples of falling from great heights or being struck with great force or at high speed. It should be noted that anticipating the impact lessened its effects, allowing some users of mutantry to not be stunned or even land on their feet with ease. This effectively enhanced the physical durability and recovery capability of a mutant. Power over physical forces and momentum also allowed mutants to partially defy gravity and other weight, allowing them to move and jump at unnatural speed and distance in seconds, though the speed only worked for limited times and was not constant while jumping could be done repeatedly to those who have mastered this ability. This effectively enhanced the agility of those who used it, giving the user acrobatic capabilities at unnatural levels. These two powers have been classified as agility and Super speed, though apparently mutants determine these terms as naive. Mutantry could be used to bend the will of weak-minded beings and guide an adept’s body. Users who were very good at utilizing mutantry could cease merely reacting to their surroundings and actually predict events in the very near future, such as the next blow in a duel. Guidance like this enabled Saul Cameron to launch missiles into an extremely difficult target in the First NoHead Base during a battle there. Mutantry could also be used to sedate. Baby Intelligence used this power on Lisa when traveling past Rocket soldiers. Baby Intelligence placed a hand on Lisa’s shoulder and asked her to relax causing the Tsurb to almost lose consciousness. Lindsay, observing the extreme change in Lisa’s behavior, told Baby Intelligence, her master, “You overdid it.” In addition to enhancing their own skill, mutants were capable of channeling the energy of mutantry directly into the world around them. The NoHeads were infamous for making heavy use of this ability to conjure lightning, or telekinetically choke enemies by constricting their windpipes. The S.M.S.B. preferred to use their abilities to heal and protect; closing wounds and shielding others with barriers of energy. Redeemed Dark mutant Xamera discovered that mutants could achieve near-immortality through mutantry by existing as a ghost after death, leaving it unclear if Fobbles can do the same. Some mutants even learned how to transfer their spirit into another body. Mr. Stupid NoHead attempted to use this technique in order to prolong his life, and evidence suggests the legendary Dark mutant Valarie Lethletera, founder of the Legions of Metta, used this power to leapfrog her essence between hundreds of clone bodies, lingering in the physical realm up until the Disciples of Quake crisis and beyond. Later Giselle Cin transferred herself to the body of a dying friend so that she could stay alive. Giselle, unlike Lethletera and Mr. Stupid NoHead, lost her ability to touch her powers in the process of transference. Mr. Stupid NoHead mentioned that mutantry could help one cheat death, or create life, a secret mastered only by Hell Burnbottom. Another NoHead, Officer Thorno, used a more indirect method to cheat death. As he could call upon his pain to strengthen his will and allow him to rise up again as strong as he was beforehand, he was arguably immortal. Mutantry played a part in the game of Crodela as well as the mutant use of a sword, in that their heightened awareness kept them from accidentally injuring themselves while using skaters or utilizing the bladed weapon in combat. Manipulating mutantry entailed significant risks, however. When a person used mutantry beyond their body’s ability to sustain it, the individual could suffer physical damage, accelerated aging, or in an extreme case, certain death by burning their own body cells from the inside out. Mr. Stupid NoHead, and Moopska 14 are prime examples of excessive mutantry usage and the consequences. When he was calm or under control, the Hulk had no connection to mutantry at all. These occurrences naturally happened to those who relied on the Darkness for their power. Resisting mutantry While not immune to external powers, Shielders, human individuals who were trained in Mind resistance, were highly resistant, having an innate defense against mutantry-based mind manipulation. Garoleffs could also ‘hide’ themselves from mutantry, though they could also make themselves detectable in mutantry at will if they chose to. NoHead magic was sometimes considered outside of mutantry by some of its practitioners, though how much of that is true is unconfirmed. Other mutant traditions The S.M.S.B. and NoHead Orders taught mutantry as described above, but there were other traditions which instructed different philosophies and uses of mutantry. table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"> *Dark mutants *Disciples of Quake *Knights of Meyer *Knights of Plague *Legions of Metta *Madakoran Knights *New Reborn *Quartenium Heretics *New Order *Zeison Sha Behind the scenes The principles of mutantry resonate not only with what pop culture has depicted it as, but with those of some real-world religions, including the Shinto religion of Japan, Buddhism, Taoism, and certain Celtic druidic concepts. Mutantry also bears a close similarity to the Chinese notion of qigong, or “chi,” and the splitting of mutantry into light and darkness echoes the concept of yin and yang in Eastern philosophy (though this is not a perfect translation, as the darkness is considered a force of evil by the S.M.S.B., and this moral duality is not the same as the Eastern concept). Along with the concepts of yin and yang, the concept of a ubiquitous force parallels the real-world concept of a “Tao” or “way,” which is said to flow everywhere in the universe. The concept of mutantry also borrows heavily from Hindu theology, which also expresses a belief in a unifying Brahman energy that composes and is a composite of the Universe (and by extension, God), and can be used for either good or bad. In fact, this is particularly similar to the concept of the Potentium and Unifying Mutantry in that while the power can be perverted for evil, it ultimately leads only to a conclusion that is good. In truth, while mutantry has always been a vital part of pop culture, D. Isaac Thomas attempts to explain its nature, “revealing” it as an amalgamation of many religions and philosophies, and is intended as a metaphor for spirituality itself. Thomas distilled the essence of many cultures and religions around wizards and superheroes, into what he found a basic combination. As in real-world spirituality, there is the potential for a “light” and a “dark” side in each person as well as the universe at large. Thomas intended to develop something that was nondenominational but still bore a feeling of reality, that “intertwined with the culture that has engulfed fiction for the twentieth century”. Despite great controversy regarding the truth of mutantry in-universe, the matter was clearly settled in an interview for Bloomsbury, which established that the S.M.S.B. has the best understanding of mutantry among all other mutant traditions, and the S.M.S.B. way of classifying and viewing mutantry is the correct one, as D. Isaac Thomas intended. Author's comments :“Mutantry has always been a huge part of pop culture. Professor X uses the Light, usually. In my works, it evolved out of various developments of character and plot. I desired a concept of religion based on the premise that there is good and evil in the world and there is a God. I began to distill the essence of all cultures oriented around superheroes and wizards, into what I thought was a basic idea common to all religions and common to primitive thinking. I wanted to develop something that was nondenominational but still had a kind of reality. Something that intertwined with the culture that has engulfed fiction for the twentieth century.” Appearances Notes and references Category:Mutantry